Islamabad, May 12 (IANS): Frequent power outages have "become a political time bomb", said a Pakistani daily Saturday.

An editorial in the News International said that Punjab province threatens to "plunge into chaos with power riots seen across its cities and towns".

"The anger displayed by people...is hardly surprising. After all, managing without power for up to 22 hours a day in sweltering weather, is no breeze," it said.

"In fact, even in the Punjab capital, Lahore, people yearn for the sound of a whirring fan or the luxury of a light that flicks on at the touch of a switch. Still graver is the financial damage being inflicted on factories, workshops, small businesses and other commercial concerns," the daily added.

The daily said that the losses being incurred are huge and "the power issue has fast become a political time bomb".

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and several lawmakers have joined protesters in Lahore.

The chief minister said the power cuts were an attempt to torture the people of Punjab.

The editorial said the helplessness of people is not hard to imagine "as lights remain shut off hour after hour (and) the bills continue to come in".

Stating that this problem is not a new one, the daily said: "It needs now to be solved so life can take on some semblance of normalcy".

It warned that if this does not happen soon, "we can expect more riots and more and more fury directed against the government".